Climb angle limit switch



5. 1957 D. L. SUPERNAW 2,810,033

' CLIMB ANGLE LIMIT SWITCH r Fil ril 8, 1948 FIG./

INVENTOR DWIGHT L. SUPERNAW ATTORNEY United j States Patent 2. 1 .03 f CLIMB ANGLE LIMIT SWITCH Dwight L. Supernaw, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Application April 8, 1948, Serial No. 19,767

2 Claims. (Cl. zoo-81.5

The present invention relates to an electric switch device and more particularly to an electric switch devicewhose operation is controlled by a plurality of factors as, for example, the angle of inclination of the body mounting the device and the hydrostatic pressure exerted upon that An object of the invention is to provide a simple and eifective device which will open and close an electric circuit in accordance with the angle of inclination of the body mounting the device, with the angle necessary to make or break the circuit being dependent upon the ambient hydrostatic pressure.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a device with reliable and easily made adjustments to determine the range of operation of the switch.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and it will be apparent that many changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction and arrangement of parts shown and described as the preferred form only has been shown and described by way of illustration.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an electric switch device embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational view of the switch mechanism taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the electric switch device.

In the operation of torpedoes and similar submersible bodies it is frequently desirable to limit the angle at which the body can approach the surface of the water in response to an up rudder in order that the likelihood of broaching may be reduced. It will be appreciated that at greater depths the permissible angle of inclination of the body is greater than at shallow depths where a very slight angle of inclination may cause a portion of the body to broach. A control to limit the climb angle must, therefore, be responsive not only to the angle of inclination of the body but must also be responsive to the depth at which the operation takes place.

The present invention includes a frame 1 which is fixed in any convenient manner to the torpedo or submersible body parallel to the horizontal axis thereof. An expansible, pressure-responsive member, preferably in the form of a bellows 2, is provided, one end of which has access to the outer surface of the body so that the expansible member is subjected to the ambient hydrostatic pressure. One end of the bellows 2 is fixed to one end of the frame 1 and the other end is fixed to a guide rod 3 which extends through the opposite end of the frame 1, being journaled in a hollow adjustment screw 4. The screw 4, threaded into the frame end member, has on one end thereof a knurled adjustment collar 5. Between this adjustment collar 5 2,810,033 Patented Oct. 15, 1957 and the free end of bellows 2 is disposed a compression spring 6 against which the bellows must expand. The screw 4 and integral collar 5 comprise an adjustment for the compression spring 6. A second collar 7 is carried by the. guide rod 3 and is immediately in contact with the end of the bellows 2. .The collars 5 and 7 comprisebearing surfaces against which the ends of the compression spring 6 bear.

A simple mercury switch 10 is carried on a bracket 11 by a clamp 12. The bracket has a bifurcated lower extension 13 the slot of which is adapted to receive a pin 14 carried by the second collar 7. The bracket 11 has integral therewith a pin 15 which is pivotally received in a bearing 16 extending laterally from an adjustment arm 17..

The arm 17 is pivoted about one end on a screw-18 which threads into an ear 19 formed on one end of the frame 1 after passing through a hole in the arm 17. The

in the adjustment arm into another ear 23 formed on.

the opposite end of the frame 1.

In operation the device is fixed in the submersible body to be controlled as above stated with its axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body. The threshold of operation of the device is determined by adjusting the tension of spring 6 through the medium of the adjustment screw 4 and by presetting the adjustment arm 17 by loosening screws 18 and 20 and moving the arm 17 to the desired position after which both screws are tightened to maintain the adjustment. The angular adjustment of the arm 17 also determines the degrees per pound pressure" movement transmitted to the switch by the bellows 2. As the hydrostatic pressure increases, pin 14 acting on the bracket 11 moves the small mercury switch clockwise about the axis of the pin 15 so that a greater angle of inclination is required to move the globular mercury in the switch away from its circuit-closing position. In adapting the switch for operation in a body in which up rudder is maintained by a closed solenoid circuit the position which will be occupied by the electric switch device is such that when the globule of mercury rolls away from its associated contacts the circuit is opened and up rudder can no longer be maintained so that the body will level off and the climb stop. As previously stated, a greater climb angle is tolerable at greater depths so that movement of the switch in response to the movement of the bellows makes it necessary for the submersible body to assume a greater angle of inclination before the globule of mercury will move away from its contacts. The electric switch device thus functions as a climb angle limit switch.

While the invention has been described in connection with a specific application it should be appreciated that it is equally applicable to other devices in which two factors or parameters must be taken into account in the operation of a simple circuit closure.

I claim:

1. An electric switch device for mounting in a submersible body for opening and closing an electric circuit in accordance with the inclination of and the depth of submergence of said body comprising: a supporting frame, an adjustment arm mounted on said frame and capable of being pivoted about one end of the arm, a transverse bearing attached to the arm intermediate the ends thereof, a slotted bracket having a transverse pin integral therewith, the pin being received in the bearing in said arm, a mercury switch secured to the bracket, expansible means secured at one of its ends to said frame and slidably received at its other end in the frame, said expansible means including pressure responsive means, spring means opposing the expansion of said expansible means, means for adjusting the compression of said spring means whereby the degree, of response from the pressure responsive means may be varied, a transverse projection on said expansible means engaging in the slot in said bracket whereby longitudinal movement of the projection will result in rotation of the bracket about its integral-transverse pin, and means for mounting said device in said submersible body whereby the pressure responsive means, is subjected to. the ambient pressure of the fluid in Which the body is submerged.

2. An electric switch device for mounting in a sub.- mersible body for opening and closing an electric circuit in accordance with the inclination of and the depth of submergence of said body comprising: a supp rting frame including two end sections, an adjustment arm pivotally secured at one end to an end section of the, frame, the, other end of the. arm being adjustably secured to the other end. sectionwhereby said other end. may be raised or lowered, a transverse bearing attached to the arm, intermediate the ends thereof, a slotted bracket having a trans.- verse, pin integral therewith, the. pin being received in the bearing in said arm, a mercury switch secured to the bracket in such manner that rotation of the bracket about,

its integral pin results in changing the inclination of the. mercury switch whereby the. circuit is opened or closed, expansible means secured at one end thereof to an end section of said frame, the other end. thereof being slid- '4 ably received in the other end section of the frame, said expansible means including pressure responsive bellows, spring means opposing the expansion of said bellows, means for adjusting the compression of said spring means whereby the length of said expansible means may be preset and whereby the degree of response from said bellows per unit change in the ambient pressure to which the bellows is subjected may be predetermined, a projection on said expansible means protruding transverse to the direction of motion of said expansible means, the projection engaging in the slot in said bracket whereby longitudinal motion of the projection will rotate, the bracket about its integral pin, and means formounting said device in said submersible body whereby the pressure responsive bellows is subjected to the ambient pressure of the fluid in which the body is submerged.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,221,856 Bartholomew Nov. 19, 1940 2,283,374 Kronmiller' May 19, 1942 2,385,356 Gilman Sept. 25, 1945 2,414,449 Chapin Jan. 21, 1947 2,538,156 Keto Jan. 16, 1951 

